The Wi-Fi network will be available to the capital's residents, visitors, public institutions, and companies established by the municipality.

While the network, based on about 1,500 access points, will complement the existing mobile and fixed-line networks in the city, daily use of up to an hour will be free of charge. The manner in which additional use will be charged remains to be determined.

The full network is expected to be ready in two years, when coverage will be secured for 90% of the wider downtown area, 80% of the populated areas extending to the motorway ring and 35% of the remaining populated areas within the Ljubljana municipality.

The public-private partnership was signed for a 10-year period. State-owned Telekom Slovenije will invest around EUR 10m into new infrastructure. Another EUR 2m have been budgeted fore annual maintenance.

The telco's chairman Ivica Kranjčević said that the investment would break even in eight years at the latest. After that he expects an annual profit of between EUR 1.5m and EUR 2m.

The city will contribute its existing infrastructure, whose value is estimated at EUR 15m and also includes around 140 kilometres of fibre-optic cables.

The private partners were picked on the basis of a tender published in September 2010. The Telekom Slovenije - Nil consortium with Cisco were chosen among five bidders.

The importance of the project for the city and for the economy emphasised by Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković as well by Nil general director Klemen Štular and Cisco Slovenija director Anton Petrič